The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) conducted Seminar-Workshop on Integrity, Transparency and Accountability in Public Service (ITAPS), Effective and Efficient Public Service (EEPS), Public Information Disclosure, and Data Privacy Protocol for Hotline 8888 Focal Persons in the agency on April 17-19 at the Hive Hotel in Quezon City in a determined effort to provide a channel whereby the value of public service is internalized, to deepen understanding of the role of 8888 Hotline focal person and to ensure the effective implementation of the Hotline’s operation pursuant to Executive Order no. 6, series of 2016,

Attendees from different central and regional offices of DENR, Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), Land Management Bureau (LMB), Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB), and National Water Resources Board (NWRB) actively participated in the discussions and workshops to understand how to earn public trust, observe and practice, professionalism, discipline, integrity, transparency and accountability in the delivery of an efficient and effective public service.

Among the topics discussed during the Seminar-Workshop were as follows:

Topic

Presenter

DAY 1

Update on Hotline 8888

Merlinda Manila

Freedom of Information and Data Privacy

ASEC Atty. Daniel Darius M. Nicer, CESO II

DAY 2

Understanding Corruption

National Integrity Center – Office of the Ombudsman

National Integrity Center – Office of the Ombudsman

Penalizing Corruption

Accountability of Public Officers

Mirror imaging the Self: Making a Difference in Public Service

Workshop and Output Presentation

DAY 3

Effective and Efficient Public Service

Workshop and Output Presentation

Meanwhile, accomplishments of the DENR 8888 took the center stage in the said seminar-workshop featuring a total of 532 complaints received from 8888 Hotline through the DENR portal from November 4, 2017 to March 31, 2018. According to DENR Action Center/Hotline head Ms. Merlinda Manila, 415 or 78% of the complaints lodged through the hotline were closed/acted as of to date.

Ms. Manila identified offices without unacted cases filed in Hotline 8888 as of April 13, 2018 where she identified MGB Region 5 as one of the offices with 100% cases acted within the 72-hour period.

It is to be noted that the DENR Action Center/Hotline and Strategic Communication and Initiatives Service (SCIS) earlier conducted a series of orientation/workshop for the institutionalization of 8888 Hotline last January 30-31, and February 1-2 and 8-9 to Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao Cluster, respectively. Succeeding orientation/workshops are tentatively scheduled this July 31-August 2 (2nd batch), August 14-16 (3rdbatch), September 11-13 (4th batch), and September 25-27 (5th batch).